Various methods of manufacturing freezing-durable bean curd have been proposed. Most of them are those of manufacturing so-called silken bean curd (kinu tofu) in which whey is not removed from curds. Among them, JP 11-169128 A discloses freezing-durable bean curd containing starch, and that soft bean curd can be produced by coagulating soybean milk and then draining the resultant curds. However, when the temperature of soybean milk at the time of addition of starch is higher than the gelatinization starting temperature, curds are hardly bound to one another due to an insufficient drain, and the desired bean curd therefore cannot be obtained.
As used herein, the cottony bean curd includes cottony bean curd produced by adding a coagulant to soybean milk to obtain solidified curds and then breaking the solidified curds, followed by press-forming; soft bean curd produced similarly except for breaking solidified curds; and processed foods made therefrom. Regular cottony bean curd is produced by breaking curds once solidified, then draining broken curds and binding the broken curds again to one another, and an important aspect of the quality of cottony bean curd is to break solidified curds and to bind the broken curds again to one another with pressing, otherwise bean curd of good quality cannot be obtained.
Generally, in freezing-durable bean curd such as silken bean curd, water present in the texture thereof is retained by a water retention agent such as starch, other proteins, gums, etc. Since it is very difficult to drain such a material in which the texture has been formed in a draining step, followed by binding the drained materials to one another. Therefore, freezing-durable cottony bean curd is scarcely found in the art.
Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to provide freezing-durable cottony bean curd.